Focal Reducers for Small Refractors

[jrkirkham]

I have an Explore Scientific ED 80mm triplet. It is an f6 scope with a 480mm focal length. I take mostly short unguided subs. Would a focal reducer be worth the money for such a rig? Is it necessary to purchase a dedicated focal reducer or will several models work equally well? What do you all think?

[JayTee]

You have a short focal length refractor and a full frame DSLR. Your field of view is extremely large. Why do you think you need a focal reducer?

Cheers,
JT

[JimMinCT]

My Evil Twin beat me to the punch... Thanks JT!
Unless you're going for your very own All Sky Survey, (Which is a fine ambition...) I can't see why you'd want to reduce the image scale any further.
f/6 isn't bad imaging-wise. I'm shooting at that speed as I type this reply.
Unless you have field curvature, (in which case a FF is what you want), I wouldn't add anything to the imaging train.
my 2¢

[jrkirkham]

Thanks everyone, I was curious about it. It's better to ask before acquiring some new gadget. I have a full-frame DSLR, but I also have a crop factor. I actually like the crop factor better when shooting through the scope. It has an articulating screen that I like looking through if I'm not tethered. It also fills the frame better. I use the full-frame on some of my longer lenses, which are just about as long as my telescope.

[JimMinCT]

Thanks everyone, I was curious about it. It's better to ask before acquiring some new gadget. I have a full-frame DSLR, but I also have a crop factor. I actually like the crop factor better when shooting through the scope. It has an articulating screen that I like looking through if I'm not tethered. It also fills the frame better. I use the full-frame on some of my longer lenses, which are just about as long as my telescope.

So you do have field curvature... Most all refractors have some. You pay dearly to add that 4th element to remove it.
If you want to get rid of the crop, and be able to use your whole field of view, then get a good field flattener. I have this one and It works OK.
https://www.highpointscientific.com/tel ... -sca-fft58
I still need to get my spacing tweaked properly. I have a very small amount of streaking in the corners.
It's usually a simple matter if the spacing on your camera works out to be 55mm with the T adapter.
Good Luck!

**edit**
Here's another!

https://www.telescope.com/Orion-Field-F ... /99608.uts